RS300 Training Day at Dalegety Bay

Our training day at Dalgety Bay last Saturday and was attended by 8 sailors, with Mark Barron as coach for the day assisted by Ian Renilson.

The sun shone all day, although it was never that warm with a building breeze coming off the cold sea. This made for testing conditions as the waves were increasing too, putting more emphasis on boat handling ability.

Mark set a windward-leeward course and concentrated on the correct trim, balance and set up, something that is very important for the RS300.
During the lunch break, Mark replayed the video picking up the points of interest and bringing clarity to the problems encountered.

Unfortunately the wind had increased further and only Neil Beveridge and Ian Baillie ventured out for the afternoon session, with the others hitching a ride in the rescue boats to watch the action. A short and wet session amongst the large steep waves ensued, with Ian putting in a couple of gybing sequences for the camera before cold and fatigue sent them all in.

With the extra time available a shore session was held to demonstrate and talk through tacking manoeuvres, followed by the video debrief, which now had some quite spectacular sailing to show.

Although the wind became too much for the majority, everyone gained from the training, with Mark's experience making a significant contribution to the success of the day.

Our thanks to Mark and Ian Renilson for their coaching, Dalgety Bay Sailing Club, especially their rescue boat volunteers and the RS Association and RYA Scotland for their assistance in running this event.

Ian.